Writing Challenge - Day 16

Chapter 12 - In the Moment

A couple of days after the beach, Eile found herself sprawled out on the floor at Angela’s place, a half-empty can of soda in hand, her shoes kicked off by the door. The girls were gathered around—Angela perched on the arm of a chair, Jane cross-legged across from Eile—all of them riding that post-class exhaustion high where everything felt a little more amusing than it should’ve been.

“So,” Jane said, dragging the word out like she was preparing for something scandalous, “are you and Henry dating yet, or what?”

Eile nearly choked on her soda. “What? No! God, no.”

Angela raised an eyebrow, smirking. “Okay, maybe not dating dating. But something is definitely going on.”

“Yeah,” Jane added, leaning in. “People don’t just hold each other during sunsets on the beach unless they’re in a movie. Or a relationship.”

Eile groaned, tugging a throw pillow over her face. “We were cold! And it was a long day! He’s just… comforting. That’s all. Plus, that was platonic.”

Angela and Jane exchanged the look again—that smug, “you’re in denial but we’ll let you have this” glance that had become a little too familiar.

Eile pouts as she looks at them. In a desperate attempt to change the subject, she says, “So, I was looking at how many classes I have left and it seems that I should be graduating this time next year. Do you think we’ll all graduate together?”

Angela ponders it for a minute before shaking her head. “No, I don’t think so. I’m a month ahead of you guys, so I should graduate a month before you guys.” Jane is looking at her own schedule on her phone.

“I seem to be graduating around this time next year, too. So we should be graduating together!” Eile smiles wide. “Really? Awesome!”

Eile wondered if Henry would graduate with them, too. He is in the same program as them, after all. She reached for her phone on the floor. She finds Henry’s name in her messages. Before she could second-guess herself, she tapped and typed: Hey! I was just talking about graduation stuff with the girls last night—Jane and I realized we have the same date next year. I know we’re all in the same program, so I was wondering… do you have the same one too?

She stared at the message for a second. It wasn’t flirty. It wasn’t even that casual. But it was her reaching out. And that felt… weirdly big.

Almost immediately, the typing bubbles appeared.

I think mine is around April. Angela’s should be a month ahead of us, right?

Eile was surprised he knew that. Though she supposed that they seemed to all know each other longer, so it made sense.

“Are you guys still hanging out? Wanna grab dinner?”

She smiled before she could stop herself, quickly typing back. “Yup. Hanging out at Angela’s. You can bring food and come hang out here with us!”

“On it.”

She dropped her phone back onto the ground. “Henry’s picking up food. He’s coming over.”

She paused before asking, “You guys don’t mind, right?”

“Wow,” Jane said with a knowing smirk. “Boy’s practically a golden retriever.”

Angela snorted and rolled her eyes. “No, it’s fine.” She nudges Jane.

Eile narrows her eyes at Jane. “Shut up. We’re all friends.” The thought of her and Henry being anything more filled her with anxiety. Despite the small moments that made her question their friendship, she didn’t want their relationship to change. The prospect of anything more than friendship scared her.

When Henry showed up, arms full of takeout bags, the room immediately filled with the scent of spice and soy sauce and comfort food. The girls cheered like he was a celebrity, and he played along, grinning and bowing exaggeratedly as he handed out the food.

They all settled around the living room—plastic containers open, drinks in hand, laughter bouncing off the walls. It was easy. Warm. Henry slid into the spot beside Eile without even asking, their knees brushing every so often as they dug into the food and swapped stories about their professors’ odd habits.

At some point, Angela pulled out a bottle of wine, and the energy shifted. Not in a heavy way—just looser, more playful. They were giggling at nothing, all slightly flushed, when Eile leaned back against the couch and declared, “I can’t whistle.”

Everyone turned to her.

Henry blinked. “Wait. Really?”

“I’ve tried,” Eile said, gesturing vaguely with her cup. “It’s just air. Like—” She demonstrated, a breathy, pathetic puff of wind escaping her lips. “See? That’s it.”

“You just need to purse your lips and blow,” Henry said, clearly trying not to laugh.

“I am blowing!”

“Here, let me show you.” He leaned in, whistling effortlessly. “Now try again.”

Eile straightened, brow furrowed in concentration, and tried once more.

Pppppffffft.

Everyone burst into laughter.

“Okay, that was worse,” Jane cackled.

Henry grinned. “Try again, but loosen your lips a little.”

Eile shot him a playful glare. “If you make that sound dirty, I swear—”

He raised his hands in surrender, laughing. “Hey, you said it, not me.”

She hit his shoulder gently. “Hey!”

“Okay, okay. Here, try this.” He handed Eile an empty wine bottle.

“Blow on the top of the bottle. It’ll help.” Eile gave him a skeptical look. She glanced between the bottle and him. Doesn’t seem like it’ll help, but it’s worth a try. She blew into the bottle. Pppppffffft. She pouted as she looked at the bottle. The room erupted into laughter once again. Pppppffffft.

“Hey, stop laughing! It’s not working.” Eile whined. She put her hands on her waist as she tried to act serious. After a couple of seconds, she let go of the act and laughed.

They went back and forth like that—her trying, failing, laughing until her cheeks hurt, him patiently instructing her like he was training a puppy. Angela and Jane sat back, watching them quietly. There was something soft in the way Henry looked at Eile, and something even softer in how Eile had finally let herself fall into the moment, no longer analyzing or holding herself back.

“She really doesn’t see it,” Jane murmured, voice low enough so Eile wouldn’t hear.

Angela shook her head, a faint smile on her face. “Nope.”

Jane softly laughed. “Idiot.”

Jane exchanged another glance with Angela, her voice barely above a whisper. “He’s not fooling anyone, you know.”

Angela smirked. “Yeah, but she’s oblivious. We’ll see how long that lasts.”

Eile didn’t feel the romantic spark yet. She liked Henry—he was easy to be around, and he made her feel good about herself. But right now, he was just Henry—fun, funny Henry. She liked that he was comfortable around her, and she was comfortable with him, too. It felt natural like they’d known each other forever. But the idea of it becoming something more? That idea still felt like an unfamiliar road she wasn’t ready to travel.

The night wore on, the laughter eventually giving way to drowsy contentment. Eile had leaned into Henry’s shoulder at some point, eyes fluttering shut for a moment before she caught herself. She didn’t feel like she was floating anymore.

She felt… anchored. Not just to him, but to the moment. To the group. To herself.

No pretending. No overthinking.

Just being.

And for once, that was enough.

xoxo, @auroxisia_

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